Suddenly I See
by EvanescentBeauty
Summary: When troubles at home force Gwen & her daughters to trek back to Jersey & live with House, she discovers she wants to be a doctor, but one cancer patient may change all of that. Everyone, even House, Wilson & Cuddy, are about to discover that love hurts.
1. Departure

**A/N:**

Full Summary: Sequel to She Has Your Eyes. Gwen's dreams of becoming an actress are not working out, so she is forced to come and live with House. Meanwhile, she begins to fall for a termincal cancer patient, Wilson tries to win the heart of the new nurse, and Cuddy's new boyfriend is much less than perfect. When the dust finally settles, how will things have changed, for the better or the worse?

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful titles that you submitted for the sequel, but I'm sorry to say that I picked my own title instead. I just think it kind of fits...how Gwen seizes the day on leaving for NJ, and how HYPOTHETICALLY LET'S JUST SAY House has to win Cuddy's heart...(coughcough)

Hello, my faithful readers, and welcome back to the world of House and Cuddy's child! I am so excited to back in my normal groove of things, and reconnect with Gwen, House, Cuddy, Wilson and everyone else in my stories...in this story, you will learn exciting secrets about the father of Gwen's children, and some inside stories about the main characters. Maybe I'll get House and Cuddy togther somtime...(nudgenudgewinkwink)

I only have one question for you know. YA'LL READY FOR THIS?!??!!? bum bum bum bum bum...(sings randomly to herself and dances away)

* * *

"This is ridiculous! It's all because of your midnight gambling, isn't it?"

"Oh, shut up! Like you would know _anything _about it! I make a hundred dollars a night doing that...I'm extremely good at--"

"Oh you idiot! _I'm_ the one with a job! _I'm_ the one who's out there doing all sorts of--"

"MOTHER!" screamed Gwen, slamming the door open. Immediately, Lucas and Nora snapped into a straight-backed statue, as if they were soldiers.

"What is the _matter _with you two?" hissed Gwen, closing the door with forced gentleness. "I have _babies _in there, trying to sleep! And you two are just bitching at each other like there is no tomorrow! Besides, I have a calculus test tomorrow that I am NOT prepared for, and I still need to learn a fair bit of my lines for the school play, which I probably don't need to remind you, is in two--count 'em--_two _months, and we are not even _close _to getting the production off it's feet! So if you two could please just give me two hours without you screaming, that would be great. If you can't, just take it outside...There's a Starbucks around the corner...just, just go!" she added, pushing them out the door.

Finally, she got the door closed and she let out a long, deep breath.

It had been fifteen months since the birth of her twins. Her illegitimate children, as her mother so often liked to remind her. Her first sonogram, taken by Dr. Lisa Cuddy, had been read incorrectly, and she had soon figured out that she was to have fraternal twin girls. However, it had been two years--two full, long years--since Gwen had come into contact with her birth mother and her birth father, who both happened to be doctors working together in the same hospital. As it had turned out, she had not been the only one surprised. Dr. Gregory House--her father--hadn't even been told that he had a daughter, because apparently, Gwen herself had been born out of wedlock, and Dr. Cuddy had been able to conceal her pregnancy rather well. Gwen wasn't exactly sure how she felt about the situation at the time, but looking back, she wished that she had just stayed with them, even at the mere age of eighteen.

She had always wanted to be an actress. She used to love to dress up and play with her dolls and make them her puppets...whether it be in comedies, tragedies or dramas, but no one ever really believed she would do it.

She had uncovered her adoption papers in an old shoebox Gwen had found when rummaging for her sandal one day, and since then, had become very withdrawn from her parents. Nothing had ever been the same. She spent most of her time listening to music in her room. She had learned to play electric and acoustic guitar, and had written tid bits of her own creations--mostly poems, but some were even ideas for plays. She had also written enough songs to fill two albums, and had a versatile enough voice that she could sing the songs of practically any singer and do it well, but she didn't think she was good enough--although tons of people on "YouTube" said she was.

When freshman year came around, Gwen worked her butt off to get all of her credits in. She took all sorts of classes, and all of her electives were some sort of theatre, drama related. Finally, she had graduated as a junior, which she was ecstatic about, and had received a scholarship to New York University.

However, Gwen's grades had been severely suffering. She had just barely scraped by with C's in her classes, and she didn't have nearly enough auditioning time as she had hoped for. And her dreams of living on campus and finally getting away from her exhaustingly miserable parents were crushed as she remembered that she had baby girls to care for. Though she had hoped to try out for some summer drama clubs in between high school and college, she had spent the few months she could spare breast-feeding and changing diapers. Her mother had generously offered to care for Hailey and Monica while Gwen was at work, which she had accepted promptly, but she still had no time for a social life. The only social interaction she ever had was rapidly typing quick instant messages to her girl friends on her laptop every so often...mostly just "Yes, I'm here" in response to eleven consecutive instant messages from her friends of "Hello?!", "Are you still there?", "Did you die!?" and "ANSWER MEEE!!!"

She was shaken awake out of her trance at the wail of a baby. She groaned and ran upstairs and into her bedroom. She clicked on the light and reached into the crib, bringing a beautiful baby girl into her arms. This was Hailey. She had dark hair, like Gwen, and the most gorgeous blue eyes. _Why am I not surprised? _Gwen thought to herself. She cradled the baby and held her to her shoulder, shushing her and cooing sweet things in her ear.

"It's alright," she whispered as Hailey wailed on. Gwen had to refrain from letting out a groan as Monica let out a scream. Now both of them were crying. She had changed their diapers only a half hour ago, and had fed them an hour ago...she didn't know what the problem was! But she knew that if she got one of them to stop crying, then the other would. Her daughters were working that whole twin-psychic thing, and Gwen found this an added bonus, especially when one was sleeping or being quiet.

Once she had finally gotten the twins to settle down and go back to sleep, she crawled slowly over to the head of her bed and sat cross-legged there, next to the window. She clutched a feather pillow to her chest and laid her chin down in it. The last light blue sun's rays were leaving her side of the Earth, her little corner of Earth, and leaving nothing but a blanket of midnight blue sky. _Maybe this isn't worth it, _she thought to herself. _Maybe I'm just...biting off more than I can chew. _

Then, she blinked. How could she have been so stupid? She had suddenly remembered something. As quietly as she could, she climbed over the side of the bed, reached underneath, and withdrew a glossy, black shoebox. She lifted the ratty lid off of it, and peered down into it. She hadn't looked in here for ages. At the top were some more recent documents: a picture of a sweaty-faced Gwen holding two red-faced babies in the hospital, a picture of her and her father at the hospital. Underneath these laid some less recent things...her first sonogram photograph taken by her biological mother. And underneath that--well, Gwen knew what was under that and she knew that it was what she'd been looking for. There it was, a crinkled up piece of paper with neat handwriting on it. Gwen lifted the paper gently from it's place and read it aloud to herself.

"_Dear Gwendolyn, I'm here when you need me. Love, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, M.D.," _Gwen paused before reading the last word. "_Mom."_

It was at this moment in time that Gwen realized what she had to do, and where she would go. She closed the lid on the box, folding the paper carefully and slipping it into her jean pocket. She hurried to her closet and pulled out her suitcase. It all made sense to her now.

Or maybe it didn't, she couldn't be sure. But it was what she wanted.


	2. Back in Jersey

**A/N:** Oh, by the way, for those of you who haven't seen "Dead Poets Society" or just don't know what Carpe Diem means in general, it means _seize the day _in Latin. Or _get it while it's ripe. _Lol, which is just what Gwen has to do, pretty much, and what House will do. Lol.

* * *

Gwen looked up into the large sign that bore the words "Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital" and gulped. She was here. She was finally here. She couldn't help feeling a bit selfish at coming here on such short notice. But then that little voice in the back of her head would whisper to her…She wants you here…if she didn't want you here she wouldn't have given you that note!

Gwen shook the annoying voice out of her head, and looked at her watch. It was 9:56. Four minutes to 10. Fifty-six minutes after nine o' clock…Gwen realized with a smirk that she was trying to distract herself. Making sure that she could no longer postpone it, she blinked and pushed through the glass doors of the hospital before she could change her mind.

There was barely anyone in the waiting room. It was just a few nurses shutting down the computers at the counters.

"Excuse me?" said Gwen, walking up to the nurse, who was wearing purple scrubs. "Um, is there a Doctor Cuddy here?"

"She left about a half-hour ago," said the nurse, not looking up from the computer. "She'll be back tomorrow, but she doesn't work in pediatrics," she said, eyeing Hailey and Monica.

"No, it's not my children. I'm—!"

"Well, there's an urgent care at the back of the building. We're closing in five minutes."

"No, please," said Gwen, flustered, just trying to get her words out. "I'm not sick! I just need to talk to Doctor Cuddy."

"Well, she's not here, right now, is she?" snapped the nurse.

"How about a Doctor House?" she asked, trying desperately to remember the names of her doctors when she had been a patient here.

"He left two hours ago, go figure," the nurse growled.

"How about a…Doctor Cameron?" asked Gwen, suddenly remembering the young woman doctor's name. "And isn't there a…an Australian doctor here?"

"Blonde hair? Really hot?" asked the nurse. Gwen grinned sheepishly.

"That's Doctor Chase and neither him nor Doctor Cameron are here right now. Look, kid, come back tomorrow…we were swamped here today, and I'm exhausted—"

"Please, isn't there anyone who—?" But she stopped as man walked around the corner, a briefcase in his hand.

"Oh!" she yelped, recognizing the man at once. "Thank you!" she said quickly to the nurse before rushing over to the man.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to—!"

But what exactly the nurse wanted Gwen to do, she never knew; she was far too busy being relieved at finally finding a familiar face.

"Doctor Wilson!" she cried, skidding to a halt in front of him. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Err….yes?" he said uncertainly. "May I help you?"

"It's me! Gwen!" she cried, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Umm…Gwen who?" he asked.

"Gwendolyn Graviers!" she cried. "Don't you remember me?"

He shook his head slowly. "Should I?" he asked, looking slightly dazed.

"I was your patient two and a half years ago?" she said, trying to jog his memory.

She smiled at the confused look on his face. She folded her arms.

"Let me give you a hint," she said slowly. "You were the first person to hold me as a baby, and you were really freaked out about it."

This, apparently, did nothing for poor Wilson , because his face showed nothing but possibly more confusion, and he was starting to look scared.

"I'm Cuddy's daughter," she said quickly, cutting to the chase. "And House's too."

Wilson's eyes widened, finally understanding. He blinked and stuttered slightly.

"Gwen?" he asked, shocked. "Is it really…I mean…how can you—why are you…? Umm…err…hi," he finished lamely.

Gwen chuckled. "How are you?" she asked kindly.

"I'm, uh…I'm good," he answered flustered. "My God, how have you been?" he asked.

"Great," she lied. "I, uh, had my baby," she said.

"Oh…great!" he said, smiling.

"Yeah, _double _great," she said coyly as she held up the travel basinet. Wilson 's eyes widened as he saw the twins inside.

"You had _twins_?" he whispered.

"Doctor Wilson, we are closing," snapped the nurse. "Can you please leave?"

"Oh…err, yeah…let's go," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder and steering her out the door. "So," he said finally. "You had twins? I can't believe it!"

"Yeah, I guess Doctor Cuddy read the sonogram wrong, or something," said Gwen.

"Wow," he said slowly. There was a long silence before Gwen finally spoke again.

"Um," she said as way of a beginning. "I need someplace to stay, because…well, it didn't exactly work out in college…"

"Oh, no," he said brow furrowing in concern.

"Yeah," she said regretfully. "You know, with the twins, and my parents are breaking up, and it's the whole thing…"

"Wow, I'm really sorry Gwen," he said.

"So, I was hoping that Cuddy could…you know…take me in for a while," she said, now realizing that it was the stupidest thing she could have ever done.

"Well, you could stay at my place for a bit. I could call House or Cuddy or someone to pick you up," he offered kindly.

"Oh, that would be great!" said Gwen happily.

* * *

The doorknob rattled as Wilson unlocked the door and pushed his way through.

"Can I get you something to drink?" he asked, walking to the fridge. "Water? Soda? Beer?"

"Sadly, I'm only 19," she said, with a chuckle, setting her bag and the basinet down by the couch and sitting down. "I'll just take a Coke or something."

She grabbed the Coke that Wilson tossed to her and opened it with a crack. She sat back in the couch, relishing in the soothing bubble and sting of the soda on her throat. She barely stifled a groan as one of the twins began to cry. She bent down and saw that it was Monica. She sat the Coke on the table and lifted the small baby girl into her arms.

"Shhh…it's okay," she murmured. "It's okay…Oh my God," she groaned as Hailey began to cry too.

"I can take one," Wilson offered.

"Thank you so much," said Gwen, handing him Monica. "I was a mess at home, always having to deal with two babies at once…I swear, Hailey would be an angel if she wasn't so keen on doing everything that Monica does."

Wilson chuckled.

"I'm serious!" cried Gwen. "Monica cries; Hailey cries. Monica poops; Hailey poops. It was a nightmare!!"

Wilson smiled, and then there was silence.

"So, how have things been at the hospital?" asked Gwen.

"Fine," replied Wilson.

"Anything happen with Cuddy and House?" asked Gwen, with a crooked smile. Wilson blinked.

"Sorry?" he asked.

"Oh please, am I the only one who sees chemistry?" scoffed Gwen, laughing.

"N-no..." started Wilson slowly. "But...they're your parents...

"No, if I was talking about my _adoptive _parents, that'd be weird," said Gwen.

"Well, er, no. Not exactly..." said Wilson. He scratched his nose absentmindedly.

"What is it?" asked Gwen, setting a sleeping Hailey back in her basinet.

Wilson didn't answer, he just began fiddling with the corner of the blanket wrapped around Monica.

"Do you..._like _her?" asked Gwen, her eyes widening.

"Where the hell did you get me being attracted to Cuddy by this look?" asked Wilson, giving her a blank stare.

"Please, I'm a college _woman_. I've been dealing with those 'looks' for about eight years," Gwen said, making air quotes.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he sighed.

"I'm also smart enough to know that 'whatever' is a sign of defeat. Therefore, the subject of conversation cannot be argued, and you don't want to give anything else away--"

"_God_, you sound like House!" cried Wilson. "Geez, I get enough of that at work. You're creeping me out!"

Gwen laughed, and settled down in the back of the couch. "Get used to it."

Wilson sighed and turned around, picking up the phone. He dialed a number and held the receiver up to his ear.

"Who are you calling?" mouthed Gwen.

"Cuddy's cell," whispered Wilson. "Hi, Lisa?" he said, perking up. "It's Wilson...James."

Gwen grinned at the pink tinge in Wilson's cheeks and he made a face at her, standing up and walking to the other side of the room.

"Yeah...oh you are? Oh...oh, nothing...I'll tell you when you get back, I think that's best. Yeah, okay...bye."

He clicked the phone and set it down on the base.

"What'd she say?" asked Gwen.

"She's at a conference in Virginia, and she won't be back till Friday," he said. Gwen closed her eyes in a silent groan as she realized it was only Monday.

"I figured that you could tell her then...I don't want her worrying about you all week," he said. "I'll call House."

Gwen opened her mouth to object. She felt a bit more comfortable staying in a woman's house than a man's, even if he was her father, but what choice did she have? So, she closed her mouth and fiddled with the ends of her hair as Wilson got House on the phone. She barely heard what he was saying, she just began to think about her situation.

What was she going to do? She clearly hadn't thought this through very well because she had left all of her most important things at home. She could always go back for them, but that would be extremely awkward. She needed her babies' cribs and changing tables, more diapers...what seemed like a million things she had forgotten started to pop up in her head, and came out as tears. She tried to wipe them away, but she felt Wilson's hand on her wrist. She looked at him. He was still talking to House, but his face was sympathetic. She closed her eyes and wiped away the rest of the tears, only as they were followed by a fresh wave. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to hold in her whimpers.

She heard the click of the phone.

"Gwen, what's wrong?" asked Wilson.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked. "I just...this is all a bit overwhelming right now..."

"I know," said Wilson.

"No, you don't!" she breathed angrily. Wilson blinked, but didn't falter.

"Yes I do. You think I didn't go through the exact same thing when I had my divorce. I went to live with House, and I barely had anything. I'd left a whole bunch at my house."

Gwen sighed. Wilson really had gone through what she had, in a sense.

"I'm not divorcing my parents," she whispered, sitting down.

"Yeah, but let me tell you something," said Wilson, taking a drink from his Coke. "Alimony's a real bitch."

Gwen chuckled. Then she giggled, and she began to laugh. Before she knew it, she and Wilson were laughing so hard their sides hurt, at both of their ridiculous situations.

They only stopped when they heard three raps on the door with what sounded like a large, cane-shaped object...

* * *

**A/N:** Here's the special banner to Carpe Diem!! I'm particularly proud of this banner, and it's MUCH MUCH MUCH better than the last one...I think it's quite beautiful actually. Gwen is portrayed by Emmy Rossum, and that's just a random sonogram...nothing special. Hope you like it!! (Remember to delete the spaces in the address)

http:// i114.photobucket. com/albums/n244/jackSpArr0w2006/ thechild2banner.png


	3. Reunions

**A/N:** Here's the new and improved "She Has Your Eyes" banner. http:// i114.photobucket. com/albums/n244/jackSpArr0w2006/ shehasyoureyesimproved1.png

Remember to delete the spaces.

* * *

Wilson and Gwen stopped laughing immediately. They exchanged nervous glances, (more like Gwen gave Wilson a nervous glance, and Wilson gave her a look that said, "It's going to be okay").

As Wilson walked to the door, Gwen began to panic. What if House wouldn't take her in? What if he didn't want anything to do with her, like last time? But he couldn't...she wasn't a rebellious, emotional teenager like she'd been two years ago; she had matured into a woman. But could her father really see that?

Wilson opened the door and greeted House, but the older doctor didn't even look at Wilson, his eyes flicked over the living room until they landed upon Gwen, who immediately stood up. She smiled, and slipped the tips of her fingers into her jean pockets.

"Hi," she said, trying to sound cheerful. House didn't say anything. House nor Wilson said anything. House just walked slowly over to Gwen with a peculiar look on his face. Every second that House took a step was torturous for Gwen, and she held her breath as he was finally about two feet away from her. There was silence in the room. Gwen and Wilson held their breath as they waited for House to say something.

"I'm not going to hug you," said House finally. He limped slowly over to the fridge and grabbed a beer, twisting off the cap. Gwen blinked. That wasn't exactly what she had been expecting.

"So...I guess Wilson told you why I'm here?" said Gwen, almost as a question.

"Of course he did. How you flunked out of NYU to hang out with a bunch of old people. Damn, you're living the life now, aren't you?" sneered House, hooking his cane around his neck as he hobbled to the couch.

Gwen glared at him.

"You're my father," she said quietly. "And I just need a little bit of help. I'm getting a job first thing tomorrow--"

"Unless you don't," said House, not looking up at her from the television, which was now blaring.

Gwen tried to answer, but House had cranked up the volume so loud she could barely hear herself think.

"_You are so infuriating!!" _she shouted, but she could barely hear herself, and she didn't think _he _had.

Wilson, thankfully, hurried to the TV and pressed the power button on the screen, snapping the television off.

"You know those pretty pictures?" said House, turning to Wilson. "They are actually a lot more entertaining than listening to you."

"Or _me_!" snapped Gwen, her hands on her hips. "You could at least give me a chance to explain!"

"I didn't come here to listen to your stupid alibis," said House, reaching for the remote, which was quickly snatched out of reach by Wilson.

"So, you came over here to drink my beer and watch my TV?" asked Wilson.

"Cable's out, and I'm broke," said House.

"You're a doctor!" cried Wilson.

"Is that a question?" House asked, quickly trying to grab the remote back, but Wilson slipped the thing into his back pocket, and walked to the other side of the room. The two men were interrupted by a beeping sound behind them. As they turned, they saw it was the microwave. Out of it, Gwen withdrew two bottles of formula.

"Oh, are you girls done?" she asked sarcastically.

"Why do you have two bottles?" asked House, narrowing his eyes.

"Two babies," said Gwen in clipped tones.

House's mouth dropped. "What?"

"Hm?" said Gwen, eyebrows raising. "No, no, you go ahead and watch your television," she said, grabbing the remote from Wilson's pocket and tossing it to him.

"General Hospital reruns don't start for a half-hour. I've got the time," said House. Gwen shot him a death glare, and carried the bottles into Wilson's bedroom.

House looked up at Wilson.

"Am I missing something?" he asked. Wilson exhaled sharply.

"Gwen had twins," he said. "You'd know that if you gave a crap sometime."

"No shit, Sherlock. The fact is I don't. Why don't you fill me in?"

Wilson rolled his eyes.

"You are unbelievable," said Wilson. "She wants to stay at your place until she can make it on her own."

"Why?"

"Her parents are getting divorced, couldn't handle college, has babies to care for..."

"Yeah, yeah," said House quickly, waving his hand. "Why me?"

"Why not you?" Wilson asked.

"Why not Cuddy?"

"She's at that conference in Colorado till Friday--didn't we already go over this?" asked Wilson, scratching his nose.

"You are pathetic," snapped House. "Why did you take her here?"

"Because she was alone at the hospital, and I didn't want to LEAVE her there with two babies and a suitcase and--"

"Look," said a voice from Wilson's bedroom. It was Gwen. "I don't want to be an intruder in your sanctuary of morbid depression or whatever, but I need to know now, so I can get a hotel if I need to."

House said nothing, but Wilson eyed him meaningfully. After what seemed like minutes of awkward silence, House rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Come on," he growled. "You, outside in one minute or you can have a sleepover with Wilson."

Wilson rolled his eyes at House's immaturity, and Gwen hurried to get her things.

As soon as she reached the door, House narrowed his eyes at her.

"Sixty-four seconds," he said. "That's well over a minute."

"Shut up, House," snapped Wilson, tossing the many Coke and beer cans away.

"Goodnight, Doctor Wilson," said Gwen, with a quick wave. She saw him raise his hand to wave back, but House pushed her out the door before he could. As soon as the door was slammed shut, House limped the to edge of the curb.

"God, Wilson's annoying," he growled to himself. Gwen slowly strolled up next to him.

"What's your problem?" she asked.

"Bum leg, what's yours?" he snapped, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Twins, no husband, and no life. You got anything else?" she retorted smoothly, waving a cab over. As she opened the door to the cab, she turned around with a twisted smile on her face.

"Oh, and I'm only 19...fancy that."

House smiled slightly to himself. He knew he had gotten a lot more than he bargained for, and he couldn't wait to see what else she would dish out.


	4. Mi Casa Es Su Casa

**A/N:** Sorry this chapter is so short, there will be much more to come!! Just thought this was a delicate way to start off their time together...lol. Hope you like it.

* * *

"Welcome to thy humble abode," announced House, limping through the door and into the living room of his house. "Ignore any porn stashes you may find, and don't touch my Vicodin."

Gwen smiled, and looked around. There was the average setting of a bachelor, though she could hardly call House a bachelor. A couch, a TV, a kitchen she could see at the other side of the room, and in the corner, she was pleased to see, sat a beautiful grand piano. She strolled over and sat her bag down next to the couch.

"You've got a nice place," she said.

"You can sleep in the other bedroom," he said, pointing vaguely to the other side of the room. "There's a bathroom across the hall from it." He reached into his pocket at pulled out forty dollars, tossing them into her hands.

"And here, go buy yourself something pretty," he said, sitting down on the couch. Gwen blinked, a little taken aback.

"Oh...thank you," she said finally. She looked over at the twins as she tucked the bills into her jean pocket. They barely stirred. She looked over at the clock. It read 12:13.

"God, I'm tired," she whispered, massaging her temples.

"Whose the father?" asked House. Gwen looked up, her eyes half-open.

"I'm sorry?" she whispered.

"You heard me," House said.

"So, by me saying _'I'm tired'_, to you that means 'Hey, I'm free if you want to ask me an extremely personal question that will start a large discussion that I would very much like to talk about considering I've had a very long day'?"

"If you'd like to interpret it that way..." said House.

"Try me tomorrow, when I don't feel like kicking the wall," growled Gwen, slumping down on the couch with a sigh.

"Will you tell me then?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" she snapped. "It's none of your business!"

"It is if I'm taking care of the tadpoles," House said with a smile.

"You are so ridiculous," she groaned, leaning back in the couch. "This is weird," she added. "It seems like I've been just sitting in other people's couches all night."

"Get used to it," he said.  
Gwen looked up from the couch and looked around again, her eyes, again, resting on the grand piano. The temptation was too much, and finally, she stood up and walked over to the corner where it sat. Scattered piano books laid everywhere.

"What are you doing?" asked House, looking over at her from where he had sat down.

"Nothing," she said, opening the lid to the piano.

"Hey, hey!" cried House, jumping up. "No one touches my piano."

Gwen looked over at him, lips pursed, as she pressed the A key. House glared at her. Gwen did not remove her finger, and the beautiful note rang throughout the house. There was a minute's silence as the note slowly died away.

"Can you play?" asked House, finally.

"Does chopsticks count?" she asked innocently. "Yes," she answered hesitantly at the glare on his face.

"Can you play _well_?"

"Fairly," she answered. She rested her long-fingered hands on the keys, relishing in their smooth, polished feeling. "You keep it in good condition," she observed. "It's a compliment," she added at House's look. She looked at the piano again, and noticed that four pieces of sheet music laid there. There was no title, just notes.

"Uh, that's--" began House, reaching out for the music, but Gwen slapped his hand away. She sat there for about twenty seconds, studying the music before Gwen softly, but surely, began to play House's music. Gwen loved the song...it was mysteriously, hauntingly beautiful. And, apparently, House had written it all himself.

Mouth slightly open, House couldn't help but stare in awe at the amount of effortless concentration that Gwen was playing with. Her eyes flicked over the keys and the music, giving each note a generous amount of attention, and playing them with ease. For three minutes, Gwen played the piano with such passion and love, that House could barely believe it. When she finally played the last note, she pulled her fingers away and brought them to her throat.

"Sorry," she whispered, getting up and hurrying to get her bag.

"That's exactly how I wanted it to sound," he said, turning around. Gwen slowly turned around to look at him.

"What?" she whispered.

"I couldn't get it right...it wasn't sounding right," he explained. "You...what you did..."

Gwen blinked in surprise.

"...it was perfect," House finished, not knowing what else to say. Gwen smiled and nodded.

"Glad I could help," she said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

**A/N:** I actually had Gwen playing "Love Story" by Beethoven in the first draft of this chapter, but I thought that a piece by House would be sweeter. 


	5. Extra Surprises

A/N: I am so sorry about the long wait for updates, but my parents put parental controls on so I can only get on at 4:00, and then it was really hectic because I had surgery to get my wisdom teeth out, then I was working on color guard and also just hectic and crazy with the end of the school year and what-have-you, but now that it is summer, I can finally start posting again. Even though summer doesn't officially start until two weeks from today, I am trying to kick it into a little bit of overdrive, but aren't we all? Anyway, does anybody know when House Season 3 is coming out on DVD? I am turning into a little whiny baby over the situation, and I can think of no better summer activity then curling up on the couch and gorging myself on an abundance of only once-viewed eppies.

* * *

"Morning!" said Gwen brightly as a groggy House stepped into the kitchen that morning, rubbing his eyes and massaging his aching leg. "I made pancakes. You want some?" she said, offering him a plate of steaming pancakes. House narrowed his eyes at them.

"You made pancakes," he repeated tonelessly.

"Yeah," she said, smiling.

"With what?" snapped House, grabbing the plate.

"Certainly not with what was in your fridge," said Gwen. "I went grocery shopping. Do you _live _off Vicodin, or was the moldy cheese and heavy cream used to make some delicacy in your house?"

House grudgingly grabbed the syrup bottle and poured them over the plate.

"Oh, unclench," she snapped. "Like I really spiked your pancakes on the first day." She began to put all the dishes into the washer. "So, how's Dr. Cameron?" she asked.

"Why do you care?" he asked through a mouthful of breakfast.

"Because she was my doctor, and I'm being polite," she said.

"Fine," he replied.

"And Doctor Chase?" she asked.

"Fine," he repeated.

"How's--"

"My God, woman! Why don't you just come to work with me?" he snapped. She pursed her lips.

"Sure, why not?" she said, brushing back her hair.

"I was kidding," he said quickly.

"Well...why not?" she asked. "I mean, I'll probably just--"

"Get in everybody's way," he said.

"I will _not_," she snapped, her hands on her hips.

"Well, that doesn't matter does it, because you have two daughters to take care of," said House, taking another mouthful.

"Actually, my friend Jade was here the other day...she was my friend back when I lived here in Jersey, so she offered to baby sit today. I'm free!" she said. "I'll get my coat."

House groaned.

-----------------------------

Gwen peered around the hospital as soon as she walked in, recognizing the familiar sights. House seemed to keep his head down as he led her around the corner and down the hall to his office. Suddenly, House made an abrupt turn and banged his fist on the door next to him. Gwen flinched slightly, but then realized that the door read "Dr. James Wilson, Oncology".

"Wilson!" shouted House. It took a few seconds for the door to open, but when it did, an annoyed Dr. Wilson came out.

"You rang?" he said dully.

"We have a visitor today," said House, gesturing to Gwen. She waved sligtly.

"'Morning, Dr. Wilson," she said brightly. Wilson's eyes widened.

"There was a 'Bring Your Child to Work Day'? I must have missed the memo."

"So, if the headmistress rings, just keep this on the down low, shall we?" said House with a smile, ignoring his comment. "Thanks, you're a doll."

"H-hey, wait a minute!" called Wilson. "Is she going to...is she--"

"Tch, tch!! Some things are better left known to quiet ears."

"What is that supposed to mean?" spat Wilson, his eyebrow cocked.

"I have no idea, but it sounded cool, no?"

Gwen smirked and waved a quick goodbye as House dragged her around the corner and towards his office. They turned a final corner, where she spotted a clear-glass walled office, where she saw three people sitting, a woman who she recognized as Doctor Cameron, a man with blonde hair, who she figured had an Australian accent and whose name was Doctor Chase, and an African American man, whose name she could not recall.

"Now, when we enter," said House, pulling her aside. "I don't want you wasting their time with small-talk. This is where nice, successful people come to _work. _Not play 20 Questions with the boss's daughter."

"Err, alright," said Gwen hesitantly. "Am I allowed to breathe?"

"Can you do it quietly?"

"Hmm," said Gwen, mocking deep thought. "I think I can do it."

"Excellent."

None of the other doctors looked up at House as he entered.

"You are two hours late," stated Cameron bluntly.

"I am aware," said House.

"We have a case," said the African-American doctor. "Twenty-nine-year-old male, presenting with--"

"Oh, my God!"

House looked over at Dr. Cameron, who was the doctor who had exclaimed loudly.

"Oh my God?" he asked. "I'm not too familiar with that symptom."

"Gwen?" cried Chase, sitting up in his chair.

"Hi," said Gwen, smiling.

"W-wow, it's great to see you!" said Cameron, standing up. "How have you been?"

"Oh, fine," Gwen answered.

"You see, this is exactly what I wanted," said House, smiling at Gwen. "My doctors wasting their precious time talking with you. Foreman--"

"House, shut up," growled Cameron. "I thought you went to New York University?" she said.

"Oh, I did...that didn't work out. With the twins and everything, I just didn't really--"

"Twins?" asked Foreman. "You had twins?"

"Yeah, Dr. Cuddy must have read the sonogram wrong, or she couldn't see the other twin, I dunno, but I had twin girls. Hailey and Monica."

"That's fantastic!" said Chase.

"This is really heartwarming, but--" started House, but the Ducklings talked right over him.

"It's called common courtesy," said Foreman. "It's a thing do to other people to make them feel welcome. Maybe you aren't familiar with that kind of a concept."

"Ooh, sizzle," mocked House. "Got any ice? I'm just burning up here."

"Look, I can go downstairs if I'm bothering you guys," said Gwen.

"Bothering us? Where would you get that impression?" asked House sarcastically. Gwen made a face at him.

"I heard the coffee's good, I'll go and get some."

"No, please stay," offered Cameron kindly. "We have coffee here."

"SYMPTOMS PLEASE!!!" shouted House. Cameron flinched.

Suddenly, the door banged open to House's office, and a panting Wilson emerged, sweaty and red-faced. The team and Gwen looked over at him, and House furrowed his eyebrows.

"My, God, we can't get a moment's peace!! What is it?" cried House.

"Uh, House?" he breathed. "We have a problem."

"What is it?" asked Cameron.

"Cuddy's here early, the conference got cancled."

Gwen's mouth dropped. "Wait...you mean...she's here _now_?" she cried.

Wilson nodded.

"Crap," growled House.


	6. Dirty Little Secret

House limped after Wilson, Gwen following close behind.

"When did you find out?" asked Gwen.

"A few minutes ago, she just called me. She'll be in any minute," replied Wilson.

"Gwen, you have to go home," said House, as they neared the door to Princeton-Plainsboro. "Take a cab and--"

"Gwendolyn?"

All three of them froze. Gwen, House and Wilson slowly turned their heads to see Cuddy standing in the doorway.

"Ho, shi--"

"House!" cried Cuddy, before he could finish his swear. "What's going on? Gwen, I--"

"I should probably go," said Wilson, slowly inching away.

"You knew about this?" shrieked Cuddy, her eyes wide.

"Well, I, I mean...I had a small...eee..."

"You--!" spluttered Cuddy, throwing shocked looks at Wilson. "Gwen, I mean, it's great to see you, but...urgh you two are so--I-I have to lie down," said Cuddy, her fingers to her temples.

"Wilson," she growled, not looking up at him. "Take Gwen down to the cafeteria or something while I talk to my employee. House, meet me in my office in five minutes."

Wilson gave a small nod and an apologetic look to House as Gwen followed him out of sight.

* * *

"You called for me, Mistress?" said House sarcastically in a deep voice. Cuddy turned around, her arms crossed and her cloudy gray eyes shooting sparks. 

"Why didn't you call me?" she asked.

"Why didn't you stay in Virginia like you were supposed to?" he quipped back.

"What did you expect me to think when I came back on Monday finding out that my daughter had been here an entire week without me?" she cried, ignoring his stupid question.

"Similarly to how you're acting now, but since you came back early, I guess comparison isn't really an option. We didn't want you worrying while you were away."

"Oh, don't act civilized, you don't care about me!" she snapped. "Is this the kind of crap you pull when I'm not around?"

"No, Mom. And I don't care _what _Mrs. Sally says, I did _not _throw that baseball through her window. It was Jimmy!"

"I'm not expecting you to be perfect, House, in fact, I expect quite the opposite, and I'm usually prepared for it, but why you thought you had the right to hide my daughter--"  
"Oh! Look who's talking!" shouted House.

Cuddy let out a furious grunt in her throat and turned around, starting to file things back into a crate from her briefcase. It was because of this that she did not see House inch up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. He brushed her curly hair away from her neck and kissed the tender skin exposed there. She grinned slightly.

"I missed you," said House quietly, kissing her ear lobe.

"I missed you too," she breathed gently. Her breath caught as his fingers began to inch under her shirt, but she caught his hand and pushed it away.

"What if someone sees?" she hissed.

"Seventeen months, Lisa," he said chuckling. "Not once has anybody seen us!"

"What if--?"

"Will you just shut up and kiss me?" asked House. Cuddy smiled.

"You always say that," she said.

"And you always say _that_," he replied. "It kind of takes the edge off my flow."

Cuddy pushed his hands away.

"Not now," Cuddy said. "Tonight, yes?"

House groaned. "Fine," he said. "But tonight, you're mine."

"Oh, no...you have Gwen, don't you?"

"She can stay at Wilson's."

"You can't just dump our daughter on Wilson's doorstep every time you--"

"Yeah I can. He owes me for renting out my couch to him when he broke up with his wife."

"And what do you tell him when he asks why you're leaving her there?"

"Hooker night."

Cuddy rolled her eyes.

* * *

As Gwendolyn and Wilson made their way past the rooms, Gwen observed all of the patients. Some were coughing, others were just sleeping. IV's trailed out of their hands and arms and bags of medicines hung above their heads. 

"Is she going to kill him?" she asked. Wilson grinned.

"Maybe," he said. "He usually weasels out of things one way or another."

There was a long pause as Gwen continued to look through the windows.

"What made you want to be a doctor?" she asked.

"I love working with people," said Wilson. "And I like figuring things out."

"But...why cancer?" she asked. "It seems like it would be so depressing...all of your patients would eventually die...why would you ever want to do something like that?"

"I...don't know," he said, blinking. "I just think that I want to be able to help people through hard times...House can't believe that people actually thank me after I tell them they're going to die."

"They thank you?" she breathed. "Wow, you must be good at it."

"You just try not to sound too technical, and don't be brutal or blunt about it. Just...be nice to them."

Gwen nodded. Suddenly, she heard a rapid beeping noise. She looked over and saw an older man--he had flat-lined. She saw doctors run towards him--Doctor Cameron and Doctor Chase were among them--as they began CPR. Her eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks, watching the amazing technique.

"I got nothing!" shouted Cameron. "Paddles!"

A nurse handed her the paddles.

"Charging, clear!" she shouted. "Charging, 300, clear! Charging--360--clear!"

Gwen's eyes were riveted to the patient, whose body gave a mighty leap as the shocks were delivered to his system. Finally, a steady beeping returned to the heart monitor.

"I got a rhythm!" called Cameron.

"Stable," said Chase.

Gwen turned to Wilson.

"That was incredible," she said. "You actually...?" her voice trailed away.

"Every day," said Wilson with a small sigh.

Gwen turned back to the patient.

It was at that moment that Gwendolyn Graviers truly realized that she wanted to be a doctor.


	7. Daniel Callaghan

**A/N:** Sorry about the change of the title. I know it was a very risky thing to do, considering I'm not getting nearly as many reviews as I had hoped (hinthint) and I knew that changing the title would make things even more difficult, but TOUGH. I've also fixed the banner, and put more pix in it. Here it is:::

http:// i114.photobucket. com/ albums/n244/ jackSpArr0w2006/ thechild2banner2. png

OH and BTW I know I put in a saying from "House vs. God" but thas okay.

---------------------------------------------

"I can't, House. I'm busy."

"Doing what?" scoffed House impatiently.

"I've got patients to take care of, 'scrips to write and refill...you think I've got time for babysitting?"

"You're an oncologist. You deal with whiny people every day."

Wilson stared at him incredulously. "They could build _monuments _to your self-centeredness," he scoffed angrily. "Why do you need this service again?"

"Hooker night," he replied swiftly.

"Are you _kidding _me?" snapped Wilson. "You have more important things to do then making love to prostitutes from the colleges--"

"_'Make love?'_ What are you, eight?" scoffed House. Wilson rolled his eyes.

"House, you are--"

"Wait a minute, I know this one," he said quickly, holding up his index finger and pulling a face of mock thought. "A jerk, a bastard, a self-centered asshole, just your plain, run-of-the-mill asshole, or--"

"House, this is your _daughter_," he said incredulously. "Have you _no _moral compass at all?"

"Oh, Jimmy, so many lectures, so little time," he said, rolling two Vicodin onto his palm.

"What?" asked Wilson, squinting his eyes. "Look, House, I don't have time for this, just leave."

"I'll pay you," said House anxiously. Wilson looked up, examining House's face. There was a few moments before Wilson finally spoke.

"You're _serious_!" he cried.

"Sha," House laughed, removing his wallet. "How much?"

"You are not going to _pay _me to take your _nineteen_-year-old daughter off your hands," snapped Wilson irritably. "If you really don't want her there, just leave her here. She's fascinated by the whole doctor thing, I think she'd like learning a bit."

"What?" asked House. Wilson looked up.

"Gwen," he began softly. "wants to be a doctor."

"She wants to be an actress," said House, his brow furrowed.

"Not anymore," said Wilson, beginning to shuffle his files around.

"What did you _do _to her?" snapped House.

"Nothing," he said flatly. "Now if you will excuse me, I have patients to take care of."

He stood up from his desk, pulling on his jacket and grabbing his bag. He began to walk to the door, but his steps got progressively slower until he came to a complete stop, his hand on the brass doorknob, the look on his face thoughtful.

"What's up?" asked House.

"N-nothing," said Wilson, his hand on the doorknob. Finally, he turned around and looked over at House.

"What do you think...I mean...err..."

House looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"What do you think Cuddy would say if I...asked her on a date?"

House's smirk fell. His stomach dropped, and his heart skipped a beat.

"What?" he croaked.

"A date. Do you think she'd say yes?"

House blinked.

"Y-you like her?" he asked.

"Are you...? Not okay with that?" asked Wilson, frowning slightly.

"I'm fine," said House quickly.

"'Cause it's been--what--two _years _since you last...I mean...you told me that night...it wasn't serious. It was just a hormones thing."

"It was!" said House quickly. "I'm fine. Take her, I'm sure she'd like that.

Of course he couldn't actually tell Wilson that _no_, he could _not _because House himself was dating her...but Cuddy would have to go on a date with him, then. It would be a one-time thing, then she'd tell him it was over, right?

"Okay," said Wilson, his hands up slightly. "You sure?"

"Yeah," House said. "Go on."

Wilson nodded slightly and walked out the door as House threw a pen angrily at the window, where it made a loud clank. The door opened again and Wilson poked his head out.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Nothing," said House. "Dropped a mug."

Wilson eyed him suspiciously, then closed the door.

House put his head down on the table and banged it hard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And...why am I here again?" she asked, skeptically, her eyebrows raised.

"Your father has a...p-previous engagement," said Wilson, finding it unusually tricky to find a legitimate excuse for his friend's daughter.

"Oh," said Gwen, twiddling her thumbs. "What?"

"Oh, I don't even know," said Wilson, waving his hand.

"With all due respect, Dr. Wilson, you don't really seem like the kind of person to be persuaded easily of anything that you don't agree with, or don't...understand," said Gwen. Wilson smirked.

"You don't want to know."

"I'm nineteen," she retorted. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

Wilson squinted his eyes in consideration of the question. "Ehh...not...technically..."

"So...he just has a date?" she said.

"Not officially, but...you could say that," said Wilson, shrugging. Gwen's mouth dropped.

"He has a hooker?" she cried, half-laughing, half-shocked. Wilson gave her an rueful look.

"Oh my God," she laughed. "Nice. Real _class..._."

"He...doesn't have much of a censor for other people's needs," he said, gesturing to her. "You, for instance."

"I don't care," she said acquiescently. "I walked into _his _life. He can do whatever he likes."

Wilson grinned. "You're sure lenient."

"I've dealt with worse," she said grimly, fiddling with the clip in her hair.

"Well, as I told House, I'm actually very busy tonight, so you'll be sticking around here for a while."

"Okay!" she said brightly. "Can I...come with you? Around the hospital?"

"Sure," agreed Wilson. "As long as you don't say anything or do anything to interfere with the diagnosis, and ask all your questions after we've left the room." As Gwen nodded fervently, Wilson pursed his lips in thought.

"Alright, then," he said, handing her a clipboard. "Let's go. You can make notes on that."

As they walked out, Gwen scurried up behind him.

"Who do you see first?" she asked keenly. Wilson flipped through the forms on the clipboard he held in his hand.

"Well, I need to do a check-up on Daniel Callaghan, just turned twenty...brain cancer...needs refills on his pain medications. Then I need to look over Aisha Gillem, eight years old, Hodgkin's lymphoma..."

"Oh no," she breathed.

"Yeah, one of the bad things about oncology is you get tons of little kids with leukemia and lymphoma and all kinds of bad cancers for organs they barely even know about. Umm...Melinda Nguyen, forty-three, terminal liver cancer, needs a refill of pain meds, Annaliese Everard, fifty-seven, pancreatic cancer...and that's all I'm gonna do tonight."

"First?" asked Gwen.

"Aisha Gillem," said Wilson finally. "She's young, with a much lower pain threshold than the older ones."

Gwen nodded as Wilson made an abrupt turn into a room where a little girl sat curled up in a ball. She had very little hair, just some black fuzz that was beginning to grow on her copper skinned scalp, and brown eyes, and was clutching a brown teddy bear as her mother read a book to her. Gwen hurried into the corner, where she pretended to be very interested in her clipboard, when she was really listening intently to the what they were saying.

"Hello, Mrs. Gillem," said Wilson. "How are you?"

"Fine," answered the woman. "Aisha's been complaining about the pain..."

"I was about to refill her pain meds right now," he answered. He looked down at Aisha, who had tears in her eyes.

"How ya doing, sweetie?" he asked gently.

"Bad," she whimpered. "I wanna go home... I miss my friends..."

"Aisha, baby, I told you your friends are gonna come tomorrow," answered the mother, stroking her hair. Gwen winced as the mother's cell-phone let out a particularly shrill and obnoxious screech of a ring tone. The little girl whimpered and shrunk underneath the covers as the mother flipped up the phone.

"Yeah," she said quickly. "No!" she shouted after a few seconds. "No, no, _NO_! I told you five fucking times, the paperwork should be on his desk _tomorrow_! What is it about that fucking request that you don't get?"

Gwen watched as Wilson glared disapprovingly at the mother behind her back as she hurried for the door.

"Move," the mother hissed to Gwen, pushing her out of the way and slamming the door open. Gwen closed it gently behind her, but she heard the little girl whimpering and crying under the bed. She looked at Wilson, and he gave her a little nod of approval to the girl.

"Hey," said Gwen gently, moving forward. "Aisha, don't listen to that." She knew she had interfered with Aisha's time with Wilson, but she was little, and she wasn't doing anything wrong.

"She _always _does that," Aisha whispered. "She says bad words..."

Gwen looked up at Wilson as he pushed a syringe of medicine into the IV.

"You don't have to worry about her problems," he assured her. "She loves you."

"She likes giving me presents," whispered Aisha. "Toys...CD's...ice cream...she never hugs me."

Gwen rubbed her eyes, hating having to watch such a young girl suffer under such harsh conditions.

"I'm sure she loves you," said Gwen, not knowing what else to say. As Wilson finished, he came around the corner of the bed and pulled down a small corner of the bed sheets to reveal Aisha's face. He hid her face again, then reeapeared.

Aisha giggled.

"You're a goof," she chuckled.

"You want some ginger ale?" asked Wilson.

"Yes, please," she answered.

"I'll have Nurse Shelley bring you some, yes? You feel better," said Wilson.

"Okay," said Aisha in a tiny voice. Gwen smiled at how easy it came for Wilson to make the girl feel better. As they left, she smiled at him.

"That was great," she said. "You totally made her feel better! Forget all about her mother."

"Well, it comes and goes," he shrugged. "Sometimes they just keep crying."

Gwen nodded as they entered another room, which had a boy that looked about Gwen's age, and she figured it must be Daniel Callaghan, the boy with brain cancer.

"Hi, Daniel," said Wilson. "I've got your refills here."

He sat down on a stool next to his bed and prepared the syringe.

"Who's she?" asked Daniel accusingly, throwing a malicious glare at Gwen.

"She's...a student," Wilson assured him, thinking fast. "This is a teaching hospital."

"I've got cancer and you're using me as a guinea pig?" snarled Daniel.

"No," cut in Gwen quickly. "I'm just observing, as a consult."

"Hey, shut up, bitch! I wasn't talking to you!" he shouted, pointing his finger at her.

She knew it was just the cancer talking, but she couldn't help but throw a glare at him.

"Daniel, please," said Wilson gently. "Try to calm down. She's not going to interfere with us or the diagnosis--"

"Well give her to someone else!" he snapped. "I don't want her here! She's not a doctor!"

"She's pre-med--" began Wilson.

"I want her OUT!!" shouted Daniel, whacking the syringe out of Wilson's hand.

Gwen flinched, as the syringe skittered across the floor.

"I'll leave," she said quietly. Wilson said nothing, and didn't dare make eye contact with her as she picked up the syringe and made to hand it back to him, when suddenly, Daniel thrust his head back into the pillow in a violent spasm. His eyes rolled back in his head and his mouth was hanging open. Wilson jumped up and pulled the pillows out from under his head, holding his head down and shouting orders at the nurses.

"I need ativan, stat!" he shouted. Gwen pressed her fingers to her mouth and scrunched up near the wall as the nurses pushed a syringe full of clear Ativan into his IV. Slowly, the seizure slowed.

"I'm sorry," breathed Gwen. "I should have left...it was my fault?"

Wilson looked up at her.

"I...don't know," he said.

Gwen's eyes flickered over Daniel's unconscious form as the nurses began to adjust everything back to normal. The doors opened as another nurse in purple scrubs walked in.

"Doctor Wilson?" she said. "We've gotten the results back from Daniel's MRI...the tumor is inoperable...it's terminal."

Gwen's heart fell, and she and Wilson looked over at Daniel and sighed.

"When do you tell him?" asked Gwen quietly.

"When he wakes up," he answered with bitter regret. He scratched the back of his neck and slowly walked out, but Gwen didn't leave right away. There was something about this boy that was making her stay, something about the look in his eyes. She walked up to him slowly and touched his arm. He did not move, but she didn't expect him to.

"Gwendolyn," said Wilson from the doorway.

Gwen didn't leave at first, but she cast one last look at Daniel's face before joining Wilson at the door and leaving.


	8. I Just Want to Talk

**A/N:** Sorry about the long wait...

* * *

_BRRRRRIIINNNNNNGGG!!!!!!_

Gwen shot up straight in bed as a shrill ring echoed through her bedroom. Her hair was dishelveled, one eye was closed more than the other, and, as she had practically stood up out of bed, she now had a splitting headahce that she knew (by experience) would not go away without drugs. Groggily, she stood up and picked up the phone.

"Hello," she croaked out, peeling her rough tongue from the roof of her mouth.

"Jesus, Gwen, _you _sound like a million bucks," chuckled a familiar voice on the other side of the phone. It was Gwen's friend, Erica.

"Hi, Erica," said Gwen, waking up a bit.

"How's Jersey?" asked Erica.

"Just brilliant, thank you," growled Gwen, shlumping back down onto the pillows. "Better than New-York-better-known-as-Hell-itself."

"Aaah yes, but I made it just a little bit closer to Heaven, didn't I?" said Erica.

"Yeah, you sure did, Erica," chuckled Gwen mockfully.

"So... are you, like, living with your mom now? Your real mom, I mean," asked Erica.

"My dad," Gwen supplied, knowing that her friend wouldn't let it go until she dished -- in full detail. "I've got my friend Jade, who's down here... she babysits the twins while I'm at my dad's work--"

"Why the hell would you want to go to your dad's work? He's a doctor, right? I mean people there are like barfing and bleeding and all that gross stuff... you seriously want to be around that kind of crap?"

"Well, he has this friend, named Doctor Wilson, who--"

"Is he hot?" asked Ericakeenly. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Okay, first of all, _really _classy, Erica, and second-- umm, _eew_! He's my dad's friend!"

"Look it's not like it's your dad... it's your dad's _friend_! You are perfectly allowed to observe..."

"Dude... you are sick," snapped Gwen.

"And _you _haven't technically answered my question," sneered Erica shrewdly.

"Does the word 'eew' mean anything to you?"

"I want a straight answer. Is he cute?"

"Dude, I have to get up and leave before my dad gets up, and that's not even the most exciting part."

"Yeah, but we've got tonight. Tell me some more."

"Well, I mean... he's not ugly or anything, but I don't see him in that way, especially since he's like twenty-something years older than me!" snapped Gwen. "Anyway, I was going to say that Dr. Wilson is the head of oncology department---"

"Okay, Gwen?" cut in Erica quickly. "Who are ya talking to, alright? Know your audience. _No _idea what you just said."

"It's the study of cancer."

"Morbid. Go on."

"Well, I went around the hospital with him, and this one patient he had apparently had brain cancer and he just totally--" Gwen froze. Wilson had entrusted her with the privelage of being able to walk around with him in the hospital, seeing his patients, taking notes. Doctor-patient confidentiality definitely applied to her as well.

"Totally what?" asked Erica.

"Oh, nothing," said Gwen, waving her hand. "Love ya!" And she slapped the phone down quickly before Erica could say anything else.

The next day dawned bright and early, and Gwendolyn (snatching a cab with some leftover pocket money) managed to get to the hospital even before her father. She hurried through the hospital teeming with nurses, slipping in between them like water. As she turned the corner, she saw a dark-haired woman in a purple and white dress holding a stack of files. It was Dr. Cuddy, and she was coming straight at her.

"Oh," Cuddy said flatly, stopping abruptly. "Hi."

Cuddy stared at her daughter with a strange look on her face, almost as if she was trying to decipher if it was an illusion or not, before she finally snapped out of it and smiled at Gwen.

"Hello," she said. "How are you? Where's House?"

"Oh, I didn't come with him," said Gwen. "He's probably still sleeping...at least he was when I left."

"Figures," snarled Cuddy, rolling her eyes. "Pathetic. My own daughter gets here before my head of Diagnostics and she doesn't even work here."

She patted Gwen's shoulder and made to walk down the hall in the opposite direction, before she turned back around with a queer look on her face.

"Just out of curiosity," she said slowly. "Why _are _you here?"

"Well, yesterday Dr. Wilson showed me around the hospital and he let me come into a few of the patients' rooms--"

"And the twins?" cut in Cuddy, concerned.

"My friend Jade wanted to babysit again. Apparently she needs the money."

"And are you the one supplying this wage?" asked Cuddy in a deep, slightly sarcastic voice, one eyebrow cocked.

"Err...no," confessed Gwen. "Let's just say whatever Dr. House doesn't know comes out of that little jar in the cupboard won't hurt him."

Cuddy smirked. "I never realized House's personality was in his genes."

Gwen's eyes followed Cuddy as she walked down the hall, and dissapearing behind the corner. She smiled, then headed in the direction of where she believed was her father's office. As soon as she turned the corner, she knew she had made a wrong turn, but she had turned right into a door that said "Dr. James Wilson". She smiled, and figured she'd be better off here anyway. She knocked softly on the door.

"Come in."

She pushed open the door and he looked up, giving her a small smile.

"Hello, Dr. Wilson," she said brightly. "How are you?"

"I'm... doing just fine, how are you?" asked Wilson, looking slightly confused, but pleased nonetheless.

"Good," she answered. "How are your patients? How's Daniel?"

"Callaghan?" asked Wilson, looking thoroughly suprised.

"The boy with brain cancer," she said.

"No, _I _remember who he is," he said, chuckling slightly. "I'm just surprised you do."

"Well, he left a bit of an impression," said Gwen, cocking an eyebrow and smiling.

"I would imagine," said Wilson. "Well he's, uh, doing just fine. He's still sleeping, and we're going to tell him later."

"And I guess I probably shouldn't be there for that," assumed Gwen.

"I don't think so," said Wilson. "But... if you really want to... I could ask him."

* * *

_Earlier that day... _

"And I'll be needing all the available dates for Dr. Roadell's lecture... yes, I know, we're not available in March... yes, _all _of March."

Wilson took a deep breath as he listened in on Cuddy's phone conversations in her office. This was it... the moment when he would ask Cuddy on a date... Lisa... his boss. Brilliant. Just brilliant, he groaned inwardly. In a sudden surge of a ripping-off-the-Band-Aid philosophy, Wilson found himself pushing open the door into her office and standing there awkwardly. To make himself feel better, he tried to think about all the positive things about her... she was wearing a beautiful wine-red blazer and skirt, and her dark hair was absolutely perfect today. Cuddy looked up, and gave him a small smile. _One sec, _she mouthed, holding up a finger. Wilson gave her a smile, but as soon as she had turned away, rolled his eyes towards his nose at his stupidity for gawking at her.

"_No, _I already told your... secretary or whoever that March is entirely booked for Princeton-Plainsboro. Okay, so your _assistant... _why does it matter? Listen, can I call you back in an hour? Goodbye."

She clacked down the phone, rolling her eyes.

"God, these _people_... it's like talking to a brick wall, you know?" groaned Cuddy. She leaned up against her chair and smiled at him. "What's up?"

"Uhh," began Wilson lamely, scratching the side of his head. "Listen... I know this is completely out-of-the-blue, and innapropriate and I just wasn't really sure if I should come here and do this, because I didn't really think about it. I just sort of--well, you know how things can get around here... so hectic and crazy, as you've obviously just been working with... I mean, err-- yeah, so I just figured I'd come here and get it out before something really --"

"Wilson," cut in Cuddy in a low voice. For a moment, Wilson thought she was annoyed, but she was smiling in a sort of _"Aww_" way. "What's up?" she asked, blinking slowly.

"I was just wondering," he began slowly. "If maybe you wanted to... if maybe you'd possibly like to... have d-dinner with me sometime? Err... tonight?" he asked. Cuddy raised her eyebrows, looking thoroughly shocked.

"O-oh," she said in a voice that was extremely high and unnatural from Cuddy. She tapped her fingers thoughtfully, and Wilson could tell that every single gear in her head was buzzing a mile a minute.

"It's perfectly okay," he said, waving his hands a bit awkwardly. "if you don't want to... I just thought I'd..."

"I'd love to," said Cuddy quickly. Wilson turned his head to the left a bit and raised his eyebrows.

"R-really?"

**Cuddy's POV**

"Uhh," begins Wilson, scratching the side of his head. "Listen... I know this is completely out-of-the-blue, and innapropriate and I just wasn't really sure if I should come here and do this, because I didn't really think about it, I just sort of --"

Oh, he's so _cute _when he's nervous. I give him a slightly sympathetic smile that probably doesn't help his awkwardness, but mabybe will make him feel more comfortable.

"Wilson?" I cut in gently. Wilson breaks off abruptly. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering," he says slowly. "If maybe you wanted to... if maybe you'd possibly like to... have d-dinner with me sometime? Err... tonight?" he asks.

Holy _shit_.

I'm not able to hide the shock on my face, and I know that he sees it there. I try to pass it off as just your normal, pleasantly surprised expression... I feel that I do a crappy job, and I think that I do, because Wilson seems a bit scared.

"O-oh," I say in a high voice that comes out squeaky and high. I begin to tap my fingers on the chair. Of course, I could just tell him that I was busy, then he would just ask to see me another time. I could always tell him that I didn't think it would work out, but I don't want to hurt his feelings... maybe if I wasn't dating House I would go out with him, but he doesn't know that. Does he? Urrgh, I'm just being paranoid. Of course he doesn't know... I could just tell him that I'm seeing someone. But then Wilson would tell House and House would have to act in character to keep in a secret which would be to pry into my personal affairs... oh good God...

"It's perfectly okay," he says. "if you don't want to... I just thought I'd..."

Just do it. It's a one-time thing. A cover-up act. DO IT!

"I'd love to," I say quickly. Wilson turns his head to the left a bit and raises his eyebrows.

"R-really?"

I smile, trying to seem sweet, which is really the main point of this whole operation.

"Well, of course. Sure, why not? You don't have to be so scared of me... "

"Alright then... I'll... see you, tonight?" he asks tentatively.

"Sure... just go after work, then?" I suggest, trying to seem enthusiastic.

"Yeah," says Wilson, nodding. "Alright then... until then." He gives a lame little wave, which he immediately brings back down to his side, flinching at himself. He's so adorable in his boyish mistakes that I can't help but grin back and wave to make him feel better.

As soon as he leaves, I smack my head down on the table.

------------------X-----------------

"Hey," said House, walking into his office, greeting three annoyed younger doctors. "I found out this amazing thing the other day...did you know that diarrhea is hereditary?"

Cameron, Chase and Foreman all gave him looks that clearly said "_We-all-went-to-medical-school-and-no-it's-not_."

"No, seriously," said House. "It runs in your _genes_."

Cameron rolled her eyes, looking disgusted. Chase gave a snort of laughter that may have been aiming at "give-me-a-break" but everyone knew he actually found it slightly funny.

"Alright, so I only have one question for you guys," began House.

"Can it please be something pertaining to your actual job instead of one concerning Cuddy's breasts, or Wilson's bed-wetting problems?" asked Foreman sarcastically, but slightly desperately.

"It's like you don't know me at all, dude!" cried House, in mock offense. "No, how about... oh, I dunno... where's my _daughter_?"

"I haven't seen her," said Cameron, raising her eyebrows. "Did she not come with you?"

"She was gone when I got up..."

"She's probably with Wilson," suggested Chase.

"Why the hell would she be with--" but House broke off, understanding. Women... he couldn't keep them away from all the death and drama and tears that probably came daily in the Oncology department, and she had been there yesterday anyway. He finally understood why Wilson had been married three times.

_That man is __**brilliant**_

* * *

There was dead silence in the room. None of them spoke.

"We have sufficient drugs to keep you comfortable for the time being," began Wilson softly. "And your insurance with cover all of it."

Daniel did not speak, and neither did Gwendolyn.

"Daniel...?" began Gwen softly, but Wilson put his hand on her knee to silence her. She could pracitcally hear the word Wilson was trying to get across.

_Wait... _

"I don't understand..." began Daniel softly. "How could this have happened so fast? I mean... why didn't you catch it earlier?"

"Some tumors are just inoperable... we couldn't have caught it in time anyway," explained Wilson.

"I'm dying?" breathed Daniel.

"Yes," Wilson stated simply.

"Would you like some water?" Gwendolyn offered after a few moments of silence.

"No..." murmured Daniel.

"Would you like me to contact your parents, friends, relatives?" asked Wilson.

"My parents are in Oregon... they won't be back for a few days..." began Daniel.

"I'll contact them all the same," said Wilson. "They should be here."

Daniel nodded, but it wasn't in confirmation of what Wilson had said... probably to see if he was still capable of movement. When he finally looked up, he looked, not at Dr. Wilson, but at Gwen.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Gwen blinked in surprise.

"Yes. Whatever Dr. Wilson tells you is true," she answered simply.

"I'll give you a minute," said Wilson softly. "If you'd like."

Daniel nodded again. Gwen and Wilson stood up softly and began to walk out the door, when he spoke up.

"Wanna talk?"

Gwen turned around. He was addressing her, not Dr. Wilson.

"Me?" she asked. Daniel nodded. Gwen gave a look to Wilson before walking back and sitting on the little stool beside the bed. Wilson had gone.

"Some life, huh?" he murmured to her.

"Yeah," muttered Gwen. "I am so---"

"I don't wanna hear your sympathy," snapped Daniel. "For God's sake."

"Okay," said Gwen. "What _do _you want to hear?"

"I want to hear..." began the boy. "I want to hear normal."

Gwen snorted a bit. She couldn't help herself.

"Well, you've come to the wrong girl," she said.

"How do you mean?" he asked.

"I'm nineteen years old, and I already have twins... I'm not married, and two years ago I realized who my real parents were-- I was adopted-- and it turns out that they both work here. That's the only reason I'm here. Well, not _here_, but here as in New Jersey."

"Where did you come from?" he asked.

"New York City," she answered. "This would have been my sophomore year at NYU... but I flunked out. I can barely care for my children and... college just isn't an option for me right now."

"New York University?" he asked incredulously. "What was your major? How did you get in?"

"I worked my ass off in high school... my major was Drama. I wanted to be an actress..."

"Wow," he said, smiling. "Would I have... seen you in any commercials or anything?"

"Hah," she sneered. "I wish. No, I was there to _become _an actress... unfortunately the whole place was filled with grown-up GAP kids and Welch's grape juice kids and all of the people who had been in just about every commercial with a child that there had been since about 20 years ago. I had no experience whatsoever. Well, I mean... I had been in plays, but who hasn't?"

"But... you got pregnant?"

Gwen looked off into the window. "Yeah," she murmured.

"How?"

Gwen glared at him. She couldn't keep the disdain out of her voice. "Well, I would have thought it was quite obvious. Did you not _go _to 7th grade bio?"

"I know the physics... I mean... was it a drunken night at a party, was it a ra--"

"I really, _really _don't think that's _any _of your goddamn business," she snapped, flaring up at once.

"I--"

"Why don't you tell me all about _your _miserable life, eh? How did you get cancer? No, no, I want specifics!" she spat venonmously.

Daniel remained quiet.

"I just want to talk," he murmured. "About anything. Anything at all."

"Well I don't want to talk about me," she said. There was a silence. "I've gotta go," she said finally, walking to the door.

"Wait a minute!" he cried, sitting up in bed. "I--"

"Look, I've got stuff to do here... maybe later, yes?"

And she slammed the door in his face.


	9. AUTHORS NOTE PLEASE READ!

Hey everybody, EvanescentBeauty here.

Now, I don't want you guys to freak out or anything, because this isn't really a big deal, but I just thought it was my duty as the author of this fic to tell you all that this story is now officially on a _**hiatus **_due to the fact that I am very busy and the fact that this story doesn't seem to have a whole TON of reviewers.

First of all, as some of you may or may not know, I recently started high school. Now I'm not saying I don't like it (except for the stupid administration who _seriously _need to unclench their buttcheeks, if you know what I mean), but it has just left me very busy.

Mondays are practically my only free day to write. Tuesdays I have study hall from 2:30 to 3:35 and then color guard from 6:00 to 9:00. Wednesdays I have color guard from 3:00 to 5:00 and on Thursdays I have study hall from 2:30 to 3:35. Fridays I often have friends over, so again, that's another busy day.

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW_**::: this story is NOT gone forever**_! I have worked too hard on SHYE and its sequel to just let it all go to waste. I have this entire story planned, I just don't have time to put it all in writing.

This is just to give myself a little bit of rest and take some pressure off. It will be back up in about a month or so.

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding!!


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